To outsiders, it appears that laywomen make smaller sacrifices than women in religious life in service to God. A sacrifice, however, is still a sacrifice and it should never be undervalued. Time that is devoted to working with the poor, assisting with fundraising or simply volunteering to clean the church hall following a social event — all of it counts.

Every day, I look around CNEWA’s office and see women who could easily earn a larger salary in the secular business world, yet they choose to earn less knowing their sacrifice serves the greater good. Many times I’ve stepped into the elevator — our offices are located in the Terence Cardinal Cooke Center, home of the Archdiocese of New York — and have overheard conversations that ranged from possible solutions for solving technical problems to soothing words of encouragement being given to an immigrant who had sought asylum to avoid religious persecution in his homeland. The range of work that lay women do for the church is broad and never-ending.